PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures fell for a second day on Wednesday, retreating further from a two-month high hit in the previous session as first reports from a crop tour in Kansas showed yields would be slightly above average.
Nevertheless, wheat traders said they were still waiting for more information on potential damage to the US winter wheat crop after a snowstorm hit the US Plains over the weekend.
Corn edged lower after dropping 1.5 percent on Tuesday following reports of rapid planting progress in the United States.
The Chicago Board of Trade's most-active wheat contract was down 1.2 percent at $4.48-1/2 a bushel by 1004 GMT after climbing to $4.61-1/2 a bushel on Tuesday, the highest since March 6.
Crop scouts on the first day of an annual three-day tour of Kansas hard red winter wheat fields projected an average yield of 43.0 bushels per acre (bpa) in the northern portion of the state, slightly above the average of the previous five years but lower than a year earlier.
However, agronomists said it was still too early to determine the extent of any damage from heavy snow falls in parts of Kansas, something which could take two weeks.
"The market is awaiting to see the extent of damage for the US hard red winter wheat, but the assessment will take time," said one agricultural commodities analyst.
Corn fell 0.1 percent to $3.71-3/4 a bushel and soybeans was little changed at $9.69 a bushel.
Strong rains expected in Argentina's 2017-18 crop year are likely to benefit soybean, wheat and corn crops though farmers will remain alert for a repeat of the floods that put 1 million hectares out of production last season, local meteorologists said on Tuesday.
The US Department of Agriculture said on Monday that US farmers had sown 34 percent of their corn crop, in line with the five-year average but more than analysts had been expecting.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat, corn and soybeans on Tuesday, traders said. They were also net sellers of soymeal and net buyers of soyoil.
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